COST1 stimulates RHD3 GTPase activity to maintain ER morphology and plant growth in Arabidopsis.
Wang J, Jiang J, Ren J, Zhao Y, Zhang Y
Plant Signaling
Every seedling you've watched stall in heat or bounce back from drought is relying on cellular machinery like this to keep its internal protein-processing network intact — and knowing which proteins control that resilience is the first step toward understanding why some plants recover and others don't.
Inside plant cells, there's a sprawling web-like structure called the endoplasmic reticulum that handles processing proteins and keeping the cell running smoothly. Scientists found that a protein called COST1 acts like an ignition key for another protein, RHD3, which shapes and maintains that web. Without COST1 doing its job, the web gets disorganized and the plant can't grow properly.
Key Findings
COST1 directly stimulates the GTPase enzymatic activity of RHD3, a known regulator of ER membrane shaping in plants
Loss of COST1 function disrupts normal ER network morphology at the cellular level
The COST1-RHD3 functional partnership is required for normal plant growth, linking ER structure to whole-plant development
chevron_right Technical Summary
Scientists identified a protein called COST1 that activates RHD3, an enzyme responsible for shaping the endoplasmic reticulum — the cell's internal membrane network — in plants. This newly discovered partnership is required for maintaining proper ER structure and supporting normal plant growth.
Abstract Preview
The endoplasmic reticulum (ER) is essential for cellular homeostasis, yet plant-specific mechanisms regulating its structure remain poorly understood. Here, we uncover a functional partnership between the
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